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A simple leak in an air-conditioning hose stopped Melbourne's
trains in their tracks yesterday.

The evacuation of a flooded control centre halted city services
for two hours.

Up to 30,000 metropolitan and country passengers were stranded
and 66 trains cancelled during the afternoon crisis. Dozens of
trains sat empty at City Loop platforms. Another 21 trains were
cancelled after services restarted and delays lasted into the
evening peak period.

The incident will cost Connex $300,000 in Government fines for
failing performance benchmarks. Connex chief executive Bruce Hughes
said that some passengers would also be compensated with a free
daily ticket.

The chaos began at 11.40am, when water gushed through the hose
into the Metrol control centre on Collins Street, from which Connex
runs the train network. As the centre was evacuated, trains were
ordered to stop at the nearest station and were stranded for two
hours.

Mr Hughes said an investigation was under way. "The management
of the problem was fine, our emergency response and our shutdown
process worked fine," he said. "But we've got to examine what
happened and what re-engineering we might do to make sure it
doesn't happen again."

The incident raises questions about the reliability of the
20-year-old Metrol system that controls Melbourne's trains. In
2003, the Government cancelled an $18 million contract to replace
Metrol, saying it was unhappy with the deal.

Opposition transport spokesman Terry Mulder said the inadequate,
outdated system should be replaced by one with a backup control
room. "If the system had been upgraded in 2003, we would have a
backup system and we wouldn't be in the position we are today," he
said.

CityLink recently opened a backup control centre, which allows
the toll road to keep operating if the primary control centre is
shut down.

The incident will cost Connex $300,000 in Government fines.

Mr Hughes said a backup control room had been considered and
would be a requirement for any replacement for Metrol. But funding
a replacement system was the Government's responsibility.

Government spokeswoman Kate Leonard said the system itself was
not to blame for yesterday's chaos. Metrol failures caused only 1
per cent of all train cancellations. "The current system has been
in place since the early '80s and has shown itself to be very
reliable," she said. "The Government is currently investigating
replacement options for the system, but such work is at a
preliminary stage."

The shutdown caused much confusion. At Spencer Street Station
commuters milled restlessly, uncertain of what was going on.

Shirley Pears, waiting to return home from a doctor's
appointment, worked on her crossword. "I'm not well enough to leave
and look for a tram," she said. "It's pathetic."

Ms Pears said she could not believe the system had failed so
badly. "I'm not happy at all. It's disgusting. There's no staff and
when they do show up they give confusing messages."

Patricia Kaye stood with a large group of V/Line passengers
waiting for the Ballarat train.

"This is the second disaster trip I've been on in three months,"
she said.

"Something is quite wrong. I know it is difficult at Spencer
Street because of the improvements, but this is just too much."

One internal source told The Age last night that Connex had
emergency response plans that should have enabled it to keep
running despite the control room evacuation. "It is a joke that if
Metrol is evacuated that trains all stop running," the source said.
But Mr Hughes said the emergency plan required staff to control
trains manually from the field. It would be triggered only in the
event of a longer, larger-scale loss of the control room.